The Guilty Weiner: Why the Left Should Be Harsher on Anthony Weiner

The state of New York has given rise to a multitude of well-known politicians, the majority of whom are at least mildly embarrassing — Bill de Blasio, Michael Bloomberg, Bill Bratton, Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Chuck Schumer, Al Sharpton, Donald Trump, etc… Anthony Weiner, the former Democratic congressman whose scandalous life resulted in his political demise, is among this seemingly-exhaustive list.

It was announced on Friday, May 19th, 2017, that Weiner had pled guilty to the felony of transferring obscene material to a minor — who, in this case, was a then-fifteen-year-old girl from North Carolina. It was also announced that his estranged wife, Huma Abedin, an aide to and close friend of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, had filed for a divorce. I am not at all a fan of Abedin, but I commend her for her decision to leave. Weiner’s actions were disgraceful, disgusting, and immoral; and in doing what he did, he demonstrated his complete lack of respect for his marriage and his wife. Abedin should not be with a man who does not respect her — no woman should!

While he was in court, Weiner described his actions as compulsive, destructive, and morally wrong, and himself as a sick man — and on that, I call bullshit. He is not sick! He is a perverted pedophile who is so desperate for attention that he is willing to engage in obscene conversations and in sexual acts with anyone whose standards are so low as to cause them to be attracted to him. Weiner said in court that he regretted his actions, but if that were true, he would not have committed the same crime multiple times. If he regrets his actions, he does so only because the resultant scandals led to the premature end of his political career — not because he feels guilty for cheating on his wife, for engaging in explicit conversations with women via social media and text messages, for exchanging obscene pictures with underage girls, or for exposing his then-four-year-old son to his private parts because he couldn’t be bothered to go into a different room to take and send a quick nude to one of his paramours. Weiner knew that what his actions were immoral, and still he chose to do them. When the time comes, I hope that the judge shows him as little care and respect as he showed his wife and other women. The charge for which Weiner pleaded guilty carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison — but since “federal prosecutors said in the plea agreement that a sentence of 21 to 27 months would be ‘fair and appropriate'”, he is unlikely to receive the maximum sentence (Weiser and Rashbaum). Nevertheless, he will have to register as a sex offender where he lives and works, and endure the stigma that accompanies that status.

While individuals affiliated with the political Left identify themselves as pro-women and were quick to condemn then-President elect Donald Trump after rumors of his having sexually assaulted numerous women arose, they are slow to denounce Weiner. When Democrats do come out against him, the reason cited is usually that he is one of the main reasons Hillary Clinton lost the election to Donald Trump. (The FBI learned of Weiner’s relationship with the North Carolinian girl after the organization confiscated his computer to search it for the e-mails that Clinton had sent to Abedin, which Abedin had subsequently forwarded to Weiner.) While I am not surprised by this, as Democrats have a history of turning a blind eye in this kind of situation — such as in the case of Bill Clinton’s infamous affair with Monica Lewinsky —, I am angered by it because it illustrates the Left’s complete lack of respect for women.

I will not support individuals who commit sexual assault, and I will not support pedophiles, perverts, or rapists. I will not, therefore, support Anthony Weiner — and no one should support him! If Democrats do not want to be seen as hypocrites, they have to come out and condemn him. You cannot call yourself pro-women if you only stand up for women when it’s convenient or when the offender is a member of the opposite political party. You cannot call yourself pro-women if you use women to further your political agenda. You should be demanding Weiner’s head (the one on his shoulders!) for engaging in obscene communications and sending not-necessarily-wanted nude pictures to underage girls. You should be rebuking him for cheating on the woman he swore to honor, love, and respect and for throwing away his marriage. You should not be excusing or ignoring his behavior — and you should not be calling yourself pro-women if you support Anthony Weiner.